


Vampires, Ghosts, And A Whole Lotta Nope (2.0)

by MyAncestorsAreDissapointedInMe_3399



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Author Is Not Religious, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bonding, Fluff and Angst, Human/Vampire Relationship, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Mutual Pining, My First Fanfic, Not Beta Read, Original Character Death(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Supernatural (TV), Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Religious Trama, Slow To Update, Supernatural Elements, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyAncestorsAreDissapointedInMe_3399/pseuds/MyAncestorsAreDissapointedInMe_3399
Summary: This hunt was different. Shane was never nervous on one of Ryan's so-called 'ghost hunts', but this one, this one was different. This time it was his case they were investigating. His ghost they were hunting for.Aka: Shane has a secret, and Ryan's bound to find out one way or anotherTHIS IS THE REAL ONE. THE OTHER (SAME TITLE) WILL NOT BE CONTINUED
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. When You've Nowhere Else To Go

**Author's Note:**

> I changed the title of the chapter cuz...I don't even know anymore  
> I'm new to this whole "fanfic" writing thing, but I needed something to do in quarantine sooo here you go.
> 
> There will be more notes in further chapters, but for now...we wait
> 
> I'm new to this site as well and I write on my phone so formatting might be poor. Constructive criticism is appreciated! <3
> 
> I'll add in the italicized stuff later cuz I'm lazy :|

_~four centuries ago~_

__

_The freezing wind that swirled around, knocking the few remaining leaves off the bare trees, didn't bother them. Snow crunching under the fledglings bare feet as he dragged himself towards the looming doors of the mansion._

____

_A dim lamp that hung just above the entrance, illuminating the steps that led up to the door. The fledgling let out a weary breath as he climbed them, a little puff of fog that quickly dissipated into the cold nighttime air._

_____ _

_He lifted his hand up to the door, gently knocking on the hefty spruce wood. And, almost as if they were expecting him, the door opened barely a second later. The enormous doors gave way with an eerie squeak to reveal a petite little girl. She couldn't have been older than 11 at most._

______ _ _

_She had dark brown curls that cut off just before her shoulders, much like one of those horror movies with the whole 'evil child' trope, and a strikingly pale complexion. She must've only been a little over 4 feet at most, just about reaching his waist._

_______ _ _ _

_She would've been considered a kind and even innocent child if it wasn't for the practically glowing, crimson eyes that adorned her otherwise innocuous features._

________ _ _ _ _

_She stretched out a small childlike hand, asking him to take it._

_________ _ _ _ _ _

_This is when he should've turned back. Gone back to his little hideout in the trees. Even if it meant he would've died weeks, days maybe. But he didn't. The newbie vampire took her hand, though hesitantly, his practically engulfing hers._

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

_She immediately tugged him inside, the wooden door slamming behind them. The opening lobby was massive, with two sets of marble stairs on each side leading up to one meeting point adorned with black iron railing. One large intricate chandelier dangling from the ceiling in the center of the foyer giving off a dim haunting aesthetic. The floor was the same caramel brown marble, a small round table set between the two sets of stairs with two adorning wooden chairs. Just past them was another room, with matching mahogany wooden walls._

___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_The girl led him past all that and up to one If the sets of stairs, then down the left corridor taking the first right and past another few sets of stairs, these not as grand as the ones in the main entrance. They soon came to a stop at two tall mahogany-colored doors._

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_The girl whispered a few words, closing her eyes. Too low for the tall, lanky man, whose hand she held, to hear. And the doors opened to reveal a large dimly lit, much like the rest of the mansion, throne room. It looked much like the rest of the place, with the marble and all, besides the deep red tapestries that were found hung up along the walls._

_____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_A large throne sat in the middle atop a few steps, then two more on each side. Each had the basic color scheme, black with burgundy accents, the only difference being the gemstones placed at the top of each._

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_On them sat a vampire each, presumably one of the royals the fledgling had heard about, all wearing the same annoyed expression. One in particular, a redheaded female on the left of the main throne, gave him an extra hard glare._

_______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_The fledgling was confused and amazed at the same time, amongst other emotions._

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_The petite little girl released his hand and bounded forwards to the center throne, muttering a few words to the woman seated there then running off._

_________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Shane Alexander Madej, " The woman's voice rang out. "It's nice to finally meet you-" A few mutters of protest easily silenced with one look from the woman. "You've built yourself quite the reputation over the years." She said with a smile._ You could say that. _Shane thought to himself._

__________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Not that it's a very good reputation, dear, impressionable maybe. But not good." Shane's mood immediately dropped after she said that. Yeah, so maybe his habits weren't the best...but who gave her the right to critique his eating patterns!?_

___________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"And?" _It came out harsher than he intended, which he instantly regretted when her eyes flashed the same crimson color the little girls were - which also happened to be the current state in which were his stuck._

____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"And, " _She gave him a hard glare. "We can't have that, now can we?" Shane lowered his head, a low grumble escaping him that sounded much like a 'no'._

_____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Exactly. That is why I've assigned Maeve here-" The woman nodded to the ginger on her left. "To mentor you." Shane snapped his head up and shook it in disbelief._

______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"What, why?"_

_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Because-"_

________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"I don't need a 'mentor'." He growled, interrupting her and twisting his head sharply to glare at the redheaded female - who in turn gave a taunting smile._

_________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Yes. You do." Suddenly an overwhelming crushing weight was placed on his chest, one that caused his breathing to come out in short gasps. Shane clutched his chest in pain. "O-o-of cour...cour-se-" He stuttered._

__________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"As I was saying, " She, whose name he still did not know, continued. The pressure abruptly lifted. "Maeve will mentor you on all there is to know about vampirism. The ordinances in which we live by, how to manage your growing bloodlust, and, " She grinned. "Your 'gift'."_

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

~present day~

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Shane had been feeling dizzy all day. His throat was drier than the Sahara desert and his stomach ached for something a burrito couldn't quite fill.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He unscrewed the cap of the water bottle sitting on his desk and chugged it like his life depended on it, which it practically did, with all his co-workers strolling around and about and all. Though it did little to quench his growing thirst.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

They were right there he could just- _No._ He was over that part of his immortal life, he couldn't, wouldn't, go back to being the vampire he used to be. Driven to commit mass murders nightly, and worse, for his killings to stand as a territorial thing. A trophy of sorts. It would only feed into his instinctive predatory mindset. He was better than that now. He had to be. For his best, and only, friend.

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

~4 years ago~

___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_When Maeve appeared in his room, more like a dungeon Shane thought, for the first time in a long while, he knew something was up. He quickly sat up from his sprawled out position on his bed. Silently cursing himself at his instinct reaction, practically forcing himself into a more relaxed pose._

____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Maeve just gave a light, satisfied smirk at his actions. Crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe she said, "Almyra has an assignment for you."_

_____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Couldn't she have just popped in herself?" Bit Shane. "Of all the vampires in this damned castle, she sent you." He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and shooting her a hard stare._

______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Well, " His 'mentor' scoffed. "I am in charge of you."_

_______________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"I don't need looking after." He hissed, like a damn cat, sitting up straight._

________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"That's not the point, you can't-!" She suddenly changed her mind, shaking her head. "Anyways..she thinks you need to get out more so she has a job for you, you damn humgruffin!" She spat the end, putting as much venom into her voice as possible._

_________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Shane couldn't help but burst out laughing. Humgruffin?? "Did-D'you just say-" He wheezed. "Hum-Humgruff-fin??" His head flew back in a fit of giggles. "How- " He gasped. "Old-are-you-?"_

__________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_She sent him a glare, stomping her foot lightly. "Want to hear it or not?"_

___________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_"Not." And he was back in his annoyed headspace._

____________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Maeve rolled her eyes and sighed, "She wants you to look after some human." He didn't notice she had approached him until it was too late. "Humgruffin." All he felt was a light touch on his temples before he was abruptly dropped into water. The words "We'll send the details later" ringing in his ears._

_____________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I'm finally free! _Was Shane's first thought as he sunk to the bottom of the ocean. But little did he know, that nice intermission of freedom would be short-lived once he emerged from the ocean to see where exactly he was just zapped too. Los Angeles._

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

~present day~

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"You okay, big guy?" Shane looked over to his left to see Ryan watching him, two Chipotle burritos in hand.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Ryan glanced down. "You weren't answering me about lunch so I figured I might as well just go grab us something…" Shane nodded and thanked him.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"What we're ya thinking about?" He asked, mouth full of burrito, causing Shane to chuckle lightly when a piece of corn spilled out along with his words.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Stuff."

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"What kind of 'stuff'." Shane shrugged, unwrapping his own burrito. "What's this week's' 'supernatural' episode gonna be about?" There was no way Shane could tell him what was really on his mind.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Oh!" Ryan's eyes immediately lit up with excitement, like a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"I've been waiting a while to do this one!" Ryan pulled out his notebook and flipped through his notes until he found what he was looking for. "Here!" He shoved it over to Shane's space, narrowly missing his still open water.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Shane gathered the notes in his large hands, ciphering through the scribbled out words. His eyes zeroing in on one phrase specifically 'Azazel's Saint's Church'.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"-Devil's Playground'. Known for its inhuman exorcisms back in the day. Albeit old, ancient probably, it's supposedly a major hotspot for the supernatural. I've done extensive research on it-!"

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Shane froze when he said that. _Extensive research._ "-just need them to approve it first." He concluded.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This was bad. Very, very bad. Worse than that time he had accidentally stepped onto hallowed ground last October on Halloween. And that was bad. But Shane couldn't help but crumble at the look of pure enthusiasm on Ryan's face.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Let's hope it gets approved then!" Shane chuckled dryly with as much fervor he could muster up. Which wasn't a ton. It was worth it as Ryan's face glowed even more if that was possible, and he squeaked. "This is going to be awesome!" Before rushing off to, what Shane assumed, get it approved.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

This isn't going to end well. Shane thought, the scorching pain in his throat returning full force without the temporary distraction. The half-eaten burrito long forgotten.

______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Your Time Has Only Begun, Young Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning??? I guess? For violence maybe...and for my poor attempt at humor
> 
> This took YEARS to recall and a lot of it was just me tryna make up for lost time. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S I'm definitely not editing all this and italicizing it all on this site tonight, maybe another time...buuuut y'all can figure it out, for now, right?

_The young boy was jolted awake by the feeling of sharp gravels digging into his back as he was hauled down the old path. His eyes flickered open, gazing in a blurry confusion at the distorted faces around him._

__

_"Co się dzieje?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he was able to think them over. His captors' head snapped slightly to the right as they muttered, "nie moje.", in the bleakest way possible. A trickle of fear weaving its way in between the letters, there, but not quite there._

__

_They faced ahead again with a low grunt, tightening the grip on his ankles. "Nie nasz.." A feminine voice said from behind him. This one wasn't like the man's had been, there was fear mixed in with a bit of sorrow in their tone, along with a hint of something else the teen couldn't quite decipher._

__

_Something in him told him to run. To run and never to look back. Only when his vision cleared up and he was able to make out the shapes around him did he realize what was going on._

__

Oh, no. No, no, no. _He thought as fear fought its way inside him. They wouldn't do this to him. They would never think- would never believe that he was a- Would they? Panic gripped at his heart as he thrashed around, fighting for a chance, a possibility- that he could somehow escape their iron hold._

__

_His arms flailed around a bit before digging into the stone and soil beneath him, kicking his legs in an effort to free them from his captors hold._

__

_Tears streamed down his face as his mouth opened in a silent scream. His feeble efforts were nothing against the strength of man dragging him. Words of plea bubbled from his lips as his arms went limp, dragging along his body in defeat. "Nie, nie, nie, proszę …"_

__

_As they approached the Church doors all hope that he would somehow escape, somehow make it out alive, vanished. Replaced by the cold, hard truth._

__

_This was his end._

__

-

Shane awoke with a start, panting like he'd just ran a mile-long race. Running a hand through his damp hair, he stood, making his way to his adjoined bathroom. 

He tugged off his shirt, letting it fall at his feet. His back stung, a painful reminder, sure, but not the worst of that night. 

Shane stared at his practically mutilated torso in the mirror above the sink. Scars littered his skin. One started on his left, just beneath his collarbone, and dragged to the other side to create a semi-circle of sorts. 

-

_His vision blurry with tears the boy yowled in anguish around the cloth placed in his mouth. The priest ignored his obvious distress, continuing to drag the blade along his skin. He knew how guilty he must look to the witnesses gathered in the small church, but that didn't stop him from shouting around the gag-_

-

Proszę. "Please," Shane muttered out loud. "Nie ma we mnie…" His voice broke. _It's not in me._

-

 _Another cut. One after the other. The boy was sure by now his body was no longer even recognizable, far gone enough at this point that all feeling in his torso had gone numb from the pain. The only things he could feel was the throbbing of his wrists and ankles from the leather bounds and the dryness of his mouth from the cloth that was there in attempts to silence his screams._

-

It was a day Shane wished he could forget. But even after all these years, it was stuck in his memory. Stubborn and clear as day. 

He remembers thinking it was over, but boy was he wrong.

 _Why._ He remembers thinking. Why would the townspeople, who had known him since he was crawling, turn on him like that? All of them had. Their expressions had shown no remorse for the young teenage boy that lay bound to a table, howling in pain, completely at the priest's mercy-

His phone vibrating on the counter cut off his train of thought.

"Yeah?" He answered, all too quickly, his voice hoarse with unshed tears. 

"You okay, man?" Ryan said from the other end of the line.

"Yea-" He cleared his throat. "I'm good. I'm good." 

"You sure? You don't sound alright-" 

"-yes, Ryan, I'm fine." Shane cut him off. He just wanted to get to the point of the call already. 

"But-"

"What was the reason for this call?" 

"Oh- Right." He heard rustling on the other end. "We leave on Tuesday."

"Leave?" It took a second to register in his brain. His mind still fogged up with unrelenting memories. When it finally clicked, his legs almost gave out beneath him. "Oh."

"Yeah, they say we're already behind schedule. If we are going to have a video by Friday…"

"That only gives us a day to edit." 

"Exactly. I said it would be better if we left tomorrow afternoon, but you know how it is." Shane could practically hear the iconic eye roll in his voice.

"Do I now?" He couldn't help but joke. It was his defense system. 

"Shut up, Shane." Ryan giggled, more papers rustling in the background. "I gotta go now. I'll see ya tomorrow, yeah?"

"Bright n' early!" Shane said with as much enthusiasm he could muster up. He hung up with a sigh. He had two days to mentally prepare himself for this upcoming hell ride. 

-

The rest of his Sunday went by pretty quickly, to say the least. He had spent most of his time rehearsing funny little bits he could do, jokes he could make to pass the time and keep Ryan from edging too close to insanity. 

How was he supposed to joke about his horrifyingly gruesome past experiences? Make others laugh at his dumb little jokes that hid the pain he really felt? Well, it's a good thing that was his specialty.

-

The following Monday was worse. He could feel the dread of tomorrow weighing on his shoulders. Even worse, Ryan seemed to pick up on his growing worry. Sending him strange glances now and then. 

"What is it?" He sighed, leaning back in his chair to look over at Ryan, who had been staring at him for the past five minutes. 

"Nothing." He shrugged, going back to his work. Probably editing his script for tomorrow's trip. 

"If it's nothin-"

"It's just you seem really on edge, dude. I don't know what's going on, or even if anythings going on.." He stumbled over his words. "If it's the trip tomorrow…well we can't really cancel...but I bet me and you could skip the rest of the workday today. I just have a few more notes to look over-"

"Ry…"

"We could go to a park or something. I'm not sure if there's a park nearby…We'll figure it out though, won't we?" He rambled on.

"Ryan.." 

"I don't even know if you like parks! We've never gone to one together before, do you like parks? Who am I kidding, everyone likes going to a park once in a while! What would we even do at a park though? Walk, play frisbee maybe...do you know if there's a park nearby? Oh! We could-"

"Ryan."

He blinked up at Shane. "Yes..?" Shane quirked a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ryan sighed, letting his gaze fall. "If somethings bothering you, you know you can always talk to me, man." I seriously doubt that. Shane thought. 

"I'm fine, Ry."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

-

The drive to the airport was short, leaving Shane alone to his own worrying thoughts when he arrived five minutes earlier than the others. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, so he was hoping he'd get some on the flight. 

His time alone brought back the burning in his throat. _Shit._ He thought. He had completely forgotten to contact his 'friend' to go on a run and get some more. He dialed the number in a hast. Ryan and the crew should be here soon and he didn't want them overhearing anything that could seem suspicious.

"Hello, Felix here. Please state your inconvenience." 

"Felix, I, uh, need you to uhm… Ya'know." He made a swoosh motion with his hand. 

"Mali-"

"That's not my name," Shane growled, cutting him off entirely. 

"Fine. Kai. You couldn't have asked earlier? I'm kinda busy right now." Right then muffled noises sounded through the speaker. 

"Gross, man, really? Right now?" He said. "And must you insist on calling me that?"

"Mhm.." Another very, very inappropriate sound came from the other line. Shane pulled the phone away from his ear muttering a small 'ew' before bringing it back again.

"I was going to ask a few days ago...I was.. distracted."

"With?"

"It doesn't matter. Just get me some, preferably before I come back."

"Come back?" Felix asked. "Where are you going?"

"Doesn't matter. Just get it done, Fee." 

"Speaking off hated names…" Felix muttered before hanging up with a notable click. 

"Hey, man." Shane turned to see Ryan approaching, slightly out of breath. Checking the time on his phone he realized why. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"You mean fast as in not fifteen minutes late?" Shane teased. 

"Shut up, Shane." He grumbled, but the slight smile on his face betrayed him. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Shane sighed, shoulders drooping and hands shoving into his pockets. The sun setting on the horizon.

-

The plane ride was as expected. He didn't get any sleep, and Ryan's were glued to the screen of his laptop where he sat beside Shane. The rest of the crew was asleep, leaving him with no one to talk to. Alone with his thoughts once again. 

When the plane landed they beelined to the rental car waiting for them, and soon they were at the hotel they would be sleeping at. The church was deemed too old and risky to sleep in, not like they hadn't slept in worse. Shane wasn't complaining or anything. Illinois was also in the middle of a, particularly, frosty winter. The snow reaching about four or five inches in height. 

"Alright," Ryan said, setting his bag on his bed. "Tomorrow morning we'll go down to the ol' church and get what footage we can." He finished as he took off his coat, dropping it at the foot of his twin bed. 

"Right." Shane gulped, shrugging off his own winter coat.

The night passed slowly, Ryan snoring lightly on the bed beside his, leaving Shane with nothing to ponder about except the horror of tomorrow and his ever-growing thirst. 

It wasn't like Shane wasn't tired, he was just afraid to shut his eyes. He didn't want to be witness to the horrible images portrayed in his nightmares. Instead, he scrolled through twitter and watched YouTube videos to pass the time. Earbuds stuffed in his ears to drown out the hotel noises and keep from waking his partner in crime. 

-

When the early morning sunlight filtered through the curtains Shane willed it to go away. This meant it was ghost huntin' time. To say Shane was excited was a huge overstatement. He checked the time, dreading the results.

6:38. The green lights blinked back at him from the digital clock on the nightstand, taunting him. He gave an exaggerated sigh, heaving himself off the bed and to the standing shower of the hotel bathroom. 

When he returned Ryan was still fast asleep and Shane figured he should wake him before it got too, too late. It, only now, being 7, but still.

He padded his way to the side of Ryan's bed, shaking him lightly. He was quite the light sleeper after all.

"Hmm?" Ryan grumbled, blinking slowly to get used to the sudden brightness of the room. 

"Rise n' shine, Ry-guy! Today's the big day!" Shane shouted, flailing his hands above his head. 

"What time is it?" Ryan said, yawning as he sat up. Shane figured it was nice for him to finally get some sleep without a bunch of rowdy guys in their early to late twenties keeping you up all night with their partying and stuff. 

"Ten past seven. Ya think we could grab some breakfast before headin' down to ghost town?" He wanted to keep things moving, keep up the excitement so his invasive thoughts couldn't sink their claws in him. 

"Sure, just lemme shower real quick. Okie?" Ryan stood from his bed, digging through his bag for a change of clothes.

"Okie dokie artichokie!" 

Ryan grinned, then turned to the bathroom. Once the door shut his façade dropped, replaced with sagging shoulders and a deep frown. A small ding knocked him out of his thoughts before they could take over.

1 message from 'That Asshole from Texas' 

_You up, bud? I stocked the ol' fridge for Ya_

Thanks Fee

_Will you ever give that up?_

Will you ever stop calling me that name?

_By 'that name' you mean your birth name, right?_

Yes

_Of course not!  
_

Then you have your answer …  
Fee  


The typing bubble appeared then went away again, this repeated a few times before Felix gave up completely. Shane chuckled at his annoyance, then opened his Instagram.

"What's so funny?" Ryan said, coming out from the bathroom, hair still wet from his futile attempts at drying it.

"Just a meme." He said.

"Lemme see." Shane quickly scrolled to the nearest one before flipping his phone over to show him, getting lucky when Ryan gave a light laugh at the picture. 

"I'll meet you in the car, Ry," Shane said standing up to leave, making sure he had his phone and the rental keys before exiting the room. 

-

The cold wind blew sharply, rattling the last few leaves off the mostly bare trees, snow crunching beneath their feet. The old church towered over them, the windows broken and the wood rotten, and Shane was once again grateful they weren't staying overnight. But they would be back later tonight after they interviewed one of the people in this dammed town. 

"Here we are," Ryan said, voice trembling slightly, the fear finally sinking in.

"This is what you expected, isn't it?" 

Ryan shrugged signaling to the crew they were ready to start. "This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we investigate Azazel's Saints Church in Fort Crevecoeur, now known as present-day Peoria, as part of our ongoing investigation into the question - are ghosts real?" 

Shane barely remembers to shake his head when Ryan gives his speech, distracted by the strange overwhelming feelings he was abruptly swamped with. It was way worse than his brain had recalled. 

"You ready Shane?" Ryan asked, grinning ear to ear in his fluffy winter coat. Shane nodded, whispering, "Ready as I'll ever be."

It was bigger than his fifteen-year-old self remembered. The entrance was that of a normal church, leading straight into the nave of it. From there it was strange. After the rows of seats, ones he hadn't recollected from that evening, and the stand, there was a large door on the right and a few small ones on the left. There were also no windows in there. 

"Spoooky." 

"What? No taunting yet?" Ryan said, looking at him from where he stood slightly behind. 

"Nope." Shane said, popping the 'p'. "Nothin' yet." 

Something was off, something Shane couldn't quite put his finger on yet. He took in the sights of the interior while Ryan droned on. 

"-constructed in the 1680' this old church has seen its fair share of death and despair, known for its inhuman exorcisms back in the day, giving it its name as 'The Devil's Playground'. It's said that many local teens who come down here, hoping for a thrill, often report discerning apparitions in the shadows and strange noises coming from all around them-" Shane ran his fingers along the back of one of the benches, feeling the groves in the wood. Scratches indicating something had happened here. And he knew all too well what that something was. 

"One girl, in particular, Anna-Mae Creekwood, went on to report to a news station that in the quote "strange-looking storage room" there is a man that stands by the table and is quote "playing with his knives". Which also happens to be where we're heading now." Shane followed quietly behind Ryan, not bothering to make any witty remarks. A horrible wave of nausea washed over him when they approached another door. This one directly behind the would-be priests' stand. 

It was small, the door, barely large enough to fit a body. The crew ushered them inside, Ryan sticking close to his side. Once inside Ryan took one look at the room and was ready to pass out.

"This is where the exorcisms were performed." He muttered into a camera. 

It was pretty roomy compared to the size of the door they had just squeezed through. There was an empty space at the back, where Shane recalled the witnesses standing, along with knives and rope hanging on the right wall. Near that was a table, decorated with jars of unknown substances, rotten poisonous herbs, knives, cloths used to gag the victims, and...and the cross.

"-a metal rod with a two-inch cross at one end. The priest, known as Father Goldskeep, would, reportedly, use this on the people he was exercising to quote "burn the evil out of em'" Not that he really succeeded, as most his victims were innocent and all died from the ruthless procedure..."

 _Not all of them._ Shane thought. "Are we looking for anyone in particular, Ryan?" 

"Yes, actually. We are here for one man in specific, or shall I say, boy."

"A young chap, eh?" Shane joked, with his best impression, of what accent, he wasn't sure, but the grin on Ryan's face made it worthwhile. 

"For the most part the boy is unknown, but, from unnamed resources, people have come to the conclusion that his name was Malakai Jones, an odd name for that time period."

"Hey! Don't judge Mr. Jones, how rude." Shane said, crossing his arms.

"Well let's just hope mister Jones comes out to play later tonight when we do our nighttime investigation." With that Ryan and the crew begin to file out of the room, leaving Shane alone. 

Shane took a few wry steps forward, fingers hesitating to touch the slanted wooden table before retreating and dropping his hand to his side. Screams of the past, his and others who weren't so lucky, echoing in his ears. The leather bounds, ripped from the base and dangling off the sides, brought back the throbbing in his wrists. 

He rolled up a sleeve in an attempt to relieve the sudden burning sensation in his left wrist. A red ring enveloped his wrist where the bounds had rubbed raw that day. 

This is impossible. Shane thought. They were the only wounds that had faded away entirely. Now they were back. 

Out of nowhere, two boots appeared in front of him, forcing him to look up. "Ry?" One look at the elderly man before him, disfigured face and all, and fear gripped at his heart, the frozen temperature of the room around him wounding its way around him. Freezing him to the core. _"Not Ryan."_

His voice shook and he took a delicate step back. The pastor stared at him, unblinking, waving his blade around, a menacing grin revealing his mostly missing, broken teeth. 

He couldn't move as the man approached him, feet rooted to the ground, a glint of recognition in the old priest's eye.

"Shane?" Ryan called, breaking him out of his trance. Shane looked back to see his friend making his way back to the room. "You okay, man?" 

"Yea-" He spared a quick glance back, the figure was now gone replaced by the dark emptiness of the room. He turned back to Ryan and quickly slipped out of the room. Not staying to see the knife, that was once in the old man's hand, was now resting dangerously close to the edge of the table.

-

"You said you had a relative that was there during the fall of the village, Mrs. Mary?" Ryan asked the lady, who was somewhere in their late fifties or so, seated across from him.

Shane sat quietly beside Ryan. He was still in shock from his earlier run-in with his old pal Father Goldskeep. Not uttering much of anything as Ryan interviewed the old woman. 

"-They lived in the small little village just a few miles north. It's said that they could always hear when their neighbors were performing in the church… but that night was different.." Mrs. Mary trailed off, a distant sort of look in her eye. 

"Different how, exactly?" 

"It started unpleasantly, as usual, the horrid screams of the pastors next victim echoing through the night. But this one… this one took longer than the others. Not even an hour later the screams started up again."

"And that was unusual?" Ryan asked, leaning forward slightly in his chair. 

"Yes, yes." Mrs. Mary said, wringing her hands. "Very strange indeed. All the other times, they said, the victim died and they didn't hear anything from that town for a while. Not until they found their next victim at least…"

"What was so strange about that night, Mrs. Mary?" It was Shane who asked the question this time, fingernails digging into his palms where they sat on his lap, his voice low, but not low enough to raise suspicion. Could easily be played off as a bit. 

Her wide eyes focused on him now as she spoke. "While the town was in chaos, a stranger came to our town. He was out of breath, muttering something like, 'potter' or 'pofter'." 

"Potwór?" Shane finished. 

"Yes! That's it." 

Ryan gave him a strange look. "It's a polish word, means 'monster'," Shane said, shrugging. The man had seen him as a monster. That's not what bothered him though, there had been a survivor. One of them had escaped him, warned the town over-

"No one believed him though, of course, at least not until they found the bodies…" 

Shane drowned out the rest of the interview after that. There was no way someone had escaped him, it was impossible- Then Shane remembered; he had found the wanderer the next day, bloodied and dying. Shane had finished him off then. He left no witnesses.

After the interview, they were back in their shared hotel room, preparing for the nighttime investigation. 

"Are you sure you're okay, man?" Ryan asked, not looking up from the equipment spread out on the bed. 

"Mmhm.." 

"It's just.." Ryan trailed off.

"Just what, Ry?" Silence. Shane picked up his gear. "I'll be in the car." 

The sun was almost down, the comforting warm glow retreating behind the tall buildings in the near distance. It would be dark by the time they got to the site. Shane could only hope it'll all be smooth sailing ahead. 

-

From the moment Shane walked back into the building, he could tell something was off. And he was certain Ryan could feel it too. 

All of them were there. Standing in corners, wandering around mindlessly. All the people he'd slaughtered that wretched day. Maybe that was it.

But one was missing. Father Goldskeep. 

And that fact is what made Shane on edge. The fact that made Shane stick to Ryan like glue. 

After about ten minutes or so, strange things started happening. Stomping in the other rooms, distant yelling - to which he played off as people in the main city not far from them - little things like that. But he drew the line when a candle, on the shelf right above Ryan, was knocked off; catching a small fire on the wood in front of Ryan.

"Whooahhh!" Shane said, immediately putting it out with a quick stomp of his boot. When he looked up Ryans' eyes were wide. Staring fearfully at the burnt spot that had previously been on fire.

"Uhm..what the fuck?" Here comes the panic. Shane thought. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck…" Ryan chanted. 

"It's probably nothing-" 

" _Don't._ " Ryan grit out. "Don't fucking tell me that 'oh it's just the wind haha' I've seen what wind can do dammit!" Another clank sounded from the other room. 

"There is no fucking way that was wind. Wind wouldn't have blown over a candle, that just coincidentally was right where I was standing." Ryan said. 

"Ry-" 

"Let's just go to the final room, dammit." With that, he stomped away, the cameramen following his lead towards the storage-like room from earlier that day. 

Shane stayed put for a second, glancing around the room. All the ghostly figures were gone. All but one, Goldskeep watched him from the shadows with his ever-present grin; slinking off to follow where Ryan and the crew had just disappeared to. 

"Crap," Shane muttered under his breath, speed walking his way to the small room.

"Where's Ryan?" He asked. Looking back and forth between the camera crew furiously. 

"Right here, bud," Ryan said from behind him. Shane let out a sigh of relief. 

"You goin' in or what?" Ryan was still upset about the candle incident, he could tell. Even though Shane hadn't really done anything.

 _You didn't believe him._ His brain supplied.

He simply nodded before turning the knob. Once he was inside he turned off his flashlight and set his equipment on the table; giving a good view of the room without exposing the much more cryptic parts. 

"Hello?" He called into the dark. _This is stupid._ He thought. The supernatural doesn't exist.

 _You exist._

Again he ignored the rational part of his brain and moved forward. Muttering a couple teasing remarks along the way.

"Ya there ghosties?" And. "Demons? Hey, demons! It's me! Remember me?"

He ignored the muffled 'yea' that came after he said that and continued on. "It's me, Shane! Ya boi!" 

He didn't have the guts to go full-on idiot with his teasing. But, for the fans, he rationalized, he would amp up his game a bit. 

"Why don't you toss me around a bit, huh? Why don't you slam me into a wall? Prove once and for all you exist! Maybe then all the Shaniacs out there and I will believe in ya!" 

He wandered in circles for a bit before getting bored. There were just a couple minutes left anyways, he could do worse. And he did.

"Why don't you tryin' kill me then, huh? Rip my heart out! Do your worst!" 

This was dumb. He must've just been imagining the whole thing. None of it was real. Yeah, that's it. All make-believe. 

Just then a voice whispered in his ear: "Is that a challenge?"

Shane stopped himself from flinching at the cold breath that blew over his ear, but he couldn't help the way his voice wavered when he whispered. "Yes." 

He looked back at the camera, it was off.

"I really wish I could kill you, " Shane lifted his gaze to stare at the man before him, knife back in hand. "But, sadly, I don't have the skillset for that."

Goldskeep didn't glance at him once, eyes trained on the blade in hand; mumbling to himself.

"Thirty seconds!" Ryan yelled from behind the door. The priest looked up then, staring straight at the door, a smirk forming on his lips. 

"No, " Shane said, squashing any fear he once held and stuffing it into a tiny, unbreakable box. 

"Oh _yes,_ " The man grinned. Juggling the weapon between hands he said, "I may not be able to get to you directly, but indirectly- now that's a treat!" 

The door opened behind him. "Times up, man," Ryan said, voice shaking. "My turn." 

Shane nodded; reluctantly walking past him and out the door. The door shut behind him with a soft click and he slid down to sit before it. And waited.

Time was almost up when everything suddenly went silent. He could no longer hear Ryan's consistent squeaks and fear slash anxiety-induced rambling. 

"Ryan?" He called into the door over his shoulder. No one else had noticed anything odd, not that they were even in hearing distance to the room from where they sat in the benches. 

"Ryan??" He said again, worry leaking into his, now trembling, voice. The brief moment of silence and concern was quickly followed by a heavy thump and a cut-off scream. 

Shane bolted up from his spot on the floor, reaching for the handle and shaking it. He banged on the door relentlessly, calling out Ryan's name like a mad man. Surely the crew would've heard the ruckus and came to the rescue? But no one came, and he was left alone to pound on the door tirelessly; it didn't even budge. 

By now his hands were bloody and he couldn't see straight as he staggered a bit before slumping against the wall. Just when his heavy eyes were about to close, the door creaked open.

Shane stood at full attention, only wavering slightly, pushing the door open and stepping inside. 

The first thing he saw was Ryan's broken body, lying limply in the right-hand corner of the room. Next was the hovering figure of Father Goldskeep, watching him with a smile as he tipped his hat and disappeared into thin air.

Slowly Shane made his way to his buddy's side, kneeling down he hovered his hand above his heart; sensing the heartbeat he just knew was way too slow for sustaining life. 

He moved on to the knife sticking out of his chest, the wound being the major cause of his blood-soaked shirt. That's when the shock wore off, plunging him into the ice-cold water of reality when his brain finally processed what was going on. 

He was dead. Ryan was dead.

He could hear Ryan's dying heartbeat, his life force leaving his disfigured body.

Before Shane could lose hope completely, he remembered something from his lessons with Maeve. He bounced up onto his feet, scrambling to the table he grabbed another blade-much smaller than the one currently sticking out of his best friend's chest.

He bolted back to Ryan's side, sliding the knife out of him. "I'm sorry, " He muttered as he grabbed his friend's arm making a small incision in the center of Ryan's forearm before making a slice in the palm of his own legt hand. 

He pressed their wounds together and closed his eyes as he let some of his essence leak into the mixture as their blood mixed. Silently damming the heavens for letting it get this far. 

Slowly but surely the blood from Ryan's wounds cleared up along with any visible marks on his skin and Shane sighed in relief- not letting the regret of what he had just caused worm itself into his brain. It was the right thing to do, the only thing he could've done to save his friend's life in time. 

Scooping Ryan up into his arms and juggling him on one side he reached into his pocket for his phone.

Dialing the all-too-familiar number he waited for them to pick up. "I need a cleanup."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this okay? Lemme know of any major spelling/grammatical errors, constructive criticism is welcomed! 
> 
> There is no way in HELL I'm paying for the full version of the grammar app I use


	3. Realizing What You've Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short lil chapter for now. The next one will be longer and in Ryan's pov, to provide some insight into what he's feeling/what he thinks about the situation and what he knows so far

Ryan and the crew were long gone by now. Hell, they were probably on the plane ride home and halfway there already. 

But here Shane was, just a few miles from that God-forsaken church - on the side of some rando' road - sitting on a freezing curb as snow collected on the ground around him. 

How could he have been so damn stupid? He should've just told Ryan no. No, they couldn't go on this doomed Illinois adventure. But Ryan would've asked why, because that's the kind of man he is, he's stubborn like that; what would Shane have said? What could Shane have said?

_'Sorry Ryan, it's just too dangerous. Ya'know with the spirits of the church folk I slaughtered oh-so-long-ago and whatnot.'_

Ryan wouldn't have taken no for an answer. He would have pressed and pressed until he got the answer he was looking for. That Shane, good ol' skeptic Madej, was truly terrified of the mysterious little ghosties that haunted Devils' Playground. Either way Shane should've said no. 

Today's outcome had purely been his own god damn fault. And it was his dear ol' ghoul friend, Ryan Bergara, who's price it was to pay. 

Shane had no one to blame but himself. 

-

Shane should've known the fans would have noticed something had been up with him after they aired the episode. He should've known.

Scrolling through the comments for today's post mortem had been literal hell. Most of them weren't so bad. One's like _'Maybe Shane's becoming a believer after all'_ \- as if - but there was one comment that really poked the bear. 

"- FrenchFries4life asks 'what had Shane so spooked? It seemed he was very on guard this episode; he was constantly scanning the room for something - or maybe someone? Anyways, I hope Shane's ok. Love you guys. #shaniac #isshaneokay'" Ryan put his phone down and looked over at Shane. 

"Well?" 

_So much for being a Shaniac_ , Shane thought bitterly. 

Shane shifted in his seat under his best friends' gaze. "I-uh-well, you see-" He stuttered, opening his mouth to finish his sentence then closing it again when he came up blank. 

He fiddled with the collar of his turtle neck and looked away from Ryans' penetrating gaze. "I'm-uhm- I'm fine." He said.

"Oookayy…" Ryan trailed off but, thankfully, moved onto another question. Not before giving him the 'we'll talk about this later' look. 

The rest of the video passed on in a blur; before Shane knew it he was packing up his stuff and heading out. Not even giving Ryan the chance to mutter out a single syllable. 

He jogged over to his car, knowing full well he'd be in for a hell of a lot of questioning from Ryan the next time he saw him. Which just so happened to be tomorrow. He hopped in the vehicle and sped home. 

When Shane finally arrived at his cozy one-bedroom apartment he hastily unlocked the front door, slammed it behind him, and beelined straight for the fridge. 

Shane yanked the door open and grabbed a bag of O-positive, sinking his teeth into it right without a second thought. Not even bothering to get a straw or to pour it into a cup. Shane could care less about the mess right now, he just needed something to take the edge off. Closing his eyes at the calming sensation of the chilled blood flowing down his throat. 

"Wow," An all too familiar voice said from the living room. "Haven't seen you devour a bag like _that_ in decades." They chuckled. 

Shane snapped open his eyes, narrowing them when he spotted Felix over the counter, sprawled out on his sofa. Shane rolled his eyes and detached his fangs from the, now empty, sack, swiping a hand over his mouth. 

"What are you doing here, Fee?" It was Felix's turn to narrow his eyes as Shane dumped the blood bag in the trashcan; walking over to the sink to rinse himself off. 

"I could ask the same of you," Felix sat up and scooted to the far left of the couch. "You're usually not back on Mondays til' six, something up?"

Shane shrugged his shoulders, wandering over to sit on the opposite end. He rubbed his face and muttered a small, "I don't know." 

Felix eyed him curiously. "This got something to do with that friend of yours?" 

When all Shane did was grumble inherently, Felix knew he was right. "What happened?" 

And like the childish guy he was, Shane just crossed his arms and looked away. Pretending to watch the film on the screen, which, by the way, was on mute. 

After what seemed like hours of poking and prodding, Shane finally gave in. 

"I don't know where to start…" He trailed off.

"How about the beginning?" Felix offered uselessly, in turn causing Shane to glare at him. 

"Well...I fucked up." 

"Per the ushe." 

Shane simply ignored him and told the story from the start. From the wretched day Ryan had suggested the dammed idea in the first place to when Shane unheroically saved the little guys' life, all the while unconsciously clutching at the slightly burning scars on his forearms. 

"Oh." Felix was shocked, to say the least. 

"I know." Shane groaned rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Do you?" 

Shane looked at him with a face that screamed 'really?'. "I saved his life."

"No, no, I mean do you really _know_?" 

Shane furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean - you just bonded yourself to him…" Felix said, fiddling with his hands.

"Oh." Shane gulped. "You mean~" 

"Yup…" 

"Oh for the love of all that is holy." Shane groaned, letting his face fall into his hands. "What- what do I do now?"

"I think you have to pay your little 'friends' a visit," Felix said, making air quotes with his fingers when he said 'friends'. 

Shane glared at him from behind his hands. "You have _got_ to be kidding me." 

"Nope." Felix said, popping the 'p'.

Shane slumped against the cushions behind him and sighed. "I'm going to need another bag."


End file.
